Alex Golesh has wasted no time since arriving on the Plains. The Tigers' new head football coach arrived on Sunday after accepting the job late Saturday night after Auburn's 27-20 loss to Alabama in the Iron Bowl.
By the end of the day on Sunday, Golesh had already tapped several of his former staffers from South Florida to join him in Auburn. The hires are still unofficial, and details are still being ironed out, but the main focus of each person's role is clear, per Auburn Undercover.
The first assistant is Auburn alum Kodi Burns, a former Auburn wide receiver who played under and later worked for Gus Malzahn. Burns worked alongside Golesh at both Tennessee and USF as co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach. Joel Gordon, who served as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at USF, will join the Tigers' staff after having worked with Golesh at Iowa State.
Tyler Hudanick has been USF's offensive line coach for the last three years and worked with Golesh at UCF and Tennessee. DeMarcus Van Dyke was the Bulls' cornerbacks coach for the previous two seasons and will take over that role on the Plains, and USF's strength coach for the last three seasons George Courides will make the trip to Auburn, too.
Below are all the staffers who have been unofficially hired alongside their former roles with USF:
- Kodi Burns: co-offensive coordinator, wide receivers coach
- Joel Gordon: offensive coordinator, quarterbacks coach
- Tyler Hudanick: offensive line coach
- DeMarcus Van Dyke: cornerbacks coach
- George Courides: strength coach
With several assistants already in place, mostly on the offensive side, Tiger fans are still waiting to hear if Golesh will choose to retain former interim head coach and defensive coordinator DJ Durkin. The pair reportedly met on Sunday evening after Golesh's hire was confirmed.